Purdue Returns Home to Run Rutgers Out of the Building
By Keith Carrell (@BoilerColts)
ISL Purdue Columnist
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — “We want Tommy. We want Tommy.” The chants were coming from every angle inside Mackey Arena with over five minutes of game to play. Anyone who knows anything about Purdue basketball the past couple of years will see that and know how the night went for the Scarlet Knights. Purdue would win 89-54 after holding a ten point lead at halftime.
Rutgers has struggled to score all season, averaging just 68 points a game (41% FG, 31% from three, 64% from the line) and the Scarlet Knights were also without the services of their leading scorer and rebounder (Eugene Omoruyi), leaving just one player who had been averaging in double figures — Geo Baker. Naturally, Rutgers shot lights out in the first half and got little help from Baker. At the break, Rutgers trailed by ten points, largely due to an inability to get a shot off, but shot a high clip when they were able to, shooting 50% from the floor and three (11/22, 5/10) and made three of their four free throw attempts. Their challenge was turning the ball over ten times, resulting in eight fewer field goal attempts than the Boilers. Leading the charge for the Scarlet Knights was Montez Mathis who had ten at the break on his way to a career high 19 points. Baker was held to five points with lock-down defender Nojel Eastern shadowing him most of the half, two points came when Eastern was on the bench and the other three a desperation trey with the shot clock winding down.
Rutgers received the first possession of the second half, a possession which would last 55 seconds. In that time, Rutgers would miss three field goals, which were all rebounded by Rutgers, and two free throws and Purdue would commit three fouls (after committing only four the entire opening stanza), including a –albeit weak– flagrant hook by Grady Eifert. The final tally saw Rutgers score two points from a pair of Ron Harper, Jr. free throws.
The Boilers wasted no time with their response, quickly getting into their efficient offense as they used the next 80 seconds to drill three consecutive three pointers, building a 49-32 advantage. The fast and furious threes came at the hands of Carsen Edwards and a pair from Ryan Cline, assisted by Edwards and Eifert.
Rutgers might struggle on offense, but this Purdue squad seems to have turned a corner through its new identity, which is really its old identity: defense and grit. An identity which is largely attributable to the underclassmen. Eastern has assumed the lock-down defender role vacated by Dakota Mathias, but when he needs a breather, freshman, Eric Hunter, Jr. has proven he can hold his own with on-the-ball perimeter defense as well. Sasha Stefanovic has also continued to show flashes of Mathias’ game, on both sides of the ball. In total, the underclassmen earned six of the ten steals Tuesday night. Grit isn’t just about defense, though, it’s also about rebounding and Trevion Williams has been honoring the number he wears, Caleb Swanigan’s 50, by having a nose for the ball off the glass — he picked up another 13 boards on his way to his second double-double in Big Ten action (16 points) and also added a blocked shot for good measure. In the previous outing at Wisconsin, Williams was the first Boilermaker to lead the team in rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks since JaJuan Johnson in November 21, 2010.
“I thought our guys were great tonight taking care of the basketball and rebounding the basketball. Then if you’re going to shoot well… it’s going to be a good night.”
Purdue Head Coach, Matt Painter
The past couple games has also seen an old wrinkle for Edwards start to (re)develop. The powerhouse guard has been much more apt to dish the ball against Wisconsin and Rutgers than he had earlier in the season and that has directly led to increased offensive efficiency (Purdue was fifth in Division I at the beginning of the week) and more fluid offense where six players chipped in nine or more points. This style of play is more similar to when Purdue was successful the year prior, but it’s likely to be a trust factor for Edwards who had to learn how to play with four new starters after losing four to graduation at the conclusion of last season. Edwards still contributed in the scorers column with 19 points (12 FGA), but he also added six assists while only committing one turnover.
As for Rutgers, the second half saw the offense level out to normalcy. The Scarlet Knights managed just 24 points, making seven of their 24 field goal attempts (2-10 from three) including a couple of point blank miscues. They committed nine more turnovers in the half and prior to Purdue calling off the dogs, with about five minutes to play, had made only three of their 16 (19%) field goal attempts. Baker would add just five more points in the second half, two of which came from the charity stripe.
But what about Tommy; did the fans get what they wanted? Painter didn’t keep the Mackey faithful waiting long after they began chanting for their favorite garbage time sub; Tommy Luce checked into the game with 4:50 on the clock. His first possession of action he got the ball on the right elbow and fans immediately cheered, but he passed to a teammate and would go scoreless for the game.
Next up:
Home: Indiana on Saturday, 1/19 (2 pm, FOX)
Quick Hits:
The Boilermakers have had a fluky schedule this season: it was only the fourth game of the year that the Paint Crew was in attendance and Purdue was coming off of a two-game road trip the prior week (lost at Michigan State, won at Wisconsin — Purdue’s first true road win of the season)… Evan Boudreaux missed his third straight game, but he is expected to return against Indiana… Williams came off the bench (had been starting for Boudreaux) after missing Sunday’s practice with a minor injury, meaning Matt Haarms started… Football phenom, Rondale Moore was introduced during a break in the first half to loud cheers as the student athlete of the game, Moore currently holds a 3.81 GPA… Cline made his 181st career three, surpassing Cuonzo Martin for ninth on the all time three pointers made at Purdue list… Stefanovic scored a career high 14 points, making five of his six shots… Purdue shot lights out, making 50% of their field goals (32/64) and threes (14/28) while netting 20 assists and only eight turnovers… Purdue outrebounded a good rebounding Rutgers team 38-30… Rutgers committed 19 turnovers and had only nine assists for the game… The win marked the tenth straight over Rutgers (11-1 all time)… For Purdue, the win meant starting 4-2 in the Big Ten for the fourth straight season, staying undefeated at home on the year (8-0), and was the eighth straight game in which Purdue committed no more than ten turnovers… Late in the game, Aaron Wheeler was called for technical foul for pulling up on the rim slightly after a putback-dunk.
